Eric Holder Calls on Court to Reject Alabama’s Gerrymandered Congressional Map
For Immediate Release
August 14, 2023
Contact
Jena Doyle
doyle@redistrictingfoundation.org
Eric Holder Calls on Court to Reject Alabama’s Gerrymandered Congressional Map
Washington, D.C.—Today, a remedial hearing begins in Caster v. Allen where the federal district court will decide whether or not Alabama’s latest congressional map was a proper remedy in accordance with its order. The National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, is continuing to provide financial support and direct the litigation strategy for the Caster plaintiffs in this case.
“Alabama’s latest congressional map is a continuation of the state’s sordid history of defying court orders intended to protect the rights of Black voters,” said Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States. “The state has been blatant in its defiance of the United States Supreme Court. State legislators have abused the process and drawn a map that prioritizes unfair national political objectives and denies Black Alabamians their lawfully protected rights. History teaches us that the judicial branch must be the protector of the rights too long denied to Black citizens in Alabama. The court must reject the proposed map in accordance with the holding and direction from the Supreme Court.”
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
In its Allen v. Milligan decision, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed a district court order that stated the following: “As the Legislature considers such plans, it should be mindful of the practical reality, based on the ample evidence of intensely racially polarized voting adduced during the preliminary injunction proceedings, that any remedial plan will need to include two districts in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it.”
The Alabama Legislature drew a map that includes just one Black opportunity district, despite the fact that the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the lower court’s decision that in Alabama such a map is a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The second congressional district has a Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) of only 39.93 percent—an amount that falls far short of what is necessary and required to allow Black voters in Alabama an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice pursuant to Section 2 of the VRA.
The NRF supports the map developed by the plaintiff groups who succeeded on the Section 2 claim at issue in this case. The map is officially titled “VRA Plaintiffs’ Remedial Plan.” The VRA Plaintiffs’ Remedial Plan provides fair and legally compliant representation to voters by including two congressional districts that have a Black Voting Age Population (BVAP) of above 50 percent, which is necessary for these districts to effectively provide an equal opportunity for Black voters in Alabama to elect their candidates of choice as required by the VRA. And it does this while making minimal changes to the state’s current map. More information about the VRA Plaintiffs’ Remedial Plan can be found here.
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